News : Purely Organic Proves What Was Once Trailblazing Is Now The Norm

Jan 20, 2015

Originally published on Business NH Magazine Online.

By Michael McCord

PORTSMOUTH - Purely Organic Lawn Care in Portsmouth was started in 2003 when owner Jay Palladino made an unfortunate connection between his golden retriever getting sick and the newly-applied fertilizer on the lawn at his Kensington home.

“I was an early investor in the organic fertilizer company Cockadoodle Doo but hadn’t thought much about the chemicals on my lawn until my six-week-old puppy passed out on the kitchen floor,” Palladino says.

While organic lawn care clicked as a business model, Palladino admits he was in unchartered territory. “I knew nothing about using organics and growing grass,” he says. While his small company struggled to find its footing, Palladino attributes early challenges to a marketplace unprepared for their brand and not fully ready to embrace sustainability. “We were ahead of our time,” he adds. “Most people preferred using chemicals and didn’t give much thought to what it was doing to the water supply or the health of their family.”